Goodman-AC school needs voters’ support

Michelle Kessel

EDITOR:

I am writing this to ask the citizens of Armstrong Creek and Goodman to vote for keeping our children and our school in our community. (Editor’s note: The district has a referendum on Tuesday’s ballot for up to $750,000 a year over three years, to replace a $550,000 referendum that expires at the end of the school year.)

I know many of you have concerns and questions and I ask that you become an informed voter on the subject and to base your decision on facts.

Some would have you believe that our taxes will go down if our school is closed. I would ask them how a school district could pick up all of our children and not incur a need for more money — more books, more teachers, more busing (don’t forget, we will need more buses for the Goodman children that now walk to school), more meals, etc. Look at our surrounding districts, some of which have large debt — we stand to assume a portion of that debt if we go there.

I would ask the people who say that our education is not on par with other districts to please explain what information their statements are based on? Look at testing of other districts and you will find that we are on par with them. I have children who have done very well on their state testing, along with many of their classmates. We have a teacher who actually goes to another school district to teach at a lab there. Would it be a better use of resources to invest in a lab at our school, since we have the teacher?

I have a concern that if our school is gone, I will not have a say in the decisions they will make for our children. I wonder if, as the newcomers to that district, will we have a voice?

My son rides the bus for about an hour each way now and we live 5 miles from the school. This is understandable, because it is not cost-effective to add another bus just to shorten the ride time. Add another 20 to 30 miles to go to another district, and that time may double. An eight-hour school day can turn into a 12-hour day, which is a long day for school age children. What about having to pick up our children from far-away sports practices, forensics, solo and ensemble, etc. Some children may not be able to participate in these extracurricular activities because some parents will have a hard time fitting that around work schedules.

I hear some people say it won’t affect our communities, I think some families may choose to move because of these changes, affecting businesses in the area and perhaps affecting the number of volunteers to our local fire and EMS services, I would not want to see these services disappear at the present local level.

We have been very fiscally responsible at our school for a very long time and we cannot cut anymore. It is time to invest a little more into our school and our future, I, for one, am all for it and will be as long as there are children who need an education in our community. I think our children are worth a few extra dollars on my taxes to keep them here.

We are a strong school with such great children that I do not want to see them go anywhere else.

I again would encourage all of you to just please become informed, ask the questions from reliable resources and hopefully you will see how we need to keep our school in our community and that this investment in our future is a very good thing for all of us.